Rail supporting and securing means



y 1936- B. ARMSTRONG 2,040,824

RAIL SUPPORTING AND SECURING MEANS Fi l'ed March 5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9, 1936. 1.. B. ARMSTRONG 2,040,824

RAIL SUPPORTING AND SECURING MEANS Filed March 5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 EXFRLJB Ufiofngj.

Patented-May 19, '1936 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE v 2,040,824 nan. sorron'rmG AND sEoUaING MEANS Levi B. Armstrong, Chicago, m, assignor to The Lundie Engineering Corporation, New York; N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 5.1932, Serial No. 596,936

a Claims. (cuss-33s) My invention relates to rail supporting, and securing means, and it has for its object the provision of a new and improved'form and arrangement of parts by which a rail may be suitably '5 secured in position on'a tie. It is'one of the objects of my invention to provide improved means which may be efiective for holding a tie plate very securely in position on a tie-so that there shall be no movement of one with respect to the other and adapted to serve also forsecuring the rail in position on the tie plate, but arranged so that the grip on the rail at any one point shall be comparatively much less rigid so that when a wave motion traverses the rail by reason of the movement of a car wheel therealong the slight back and forth movement takes place between the rail and the tie plate rather than between the tie plate and the tie. i

It is one of the objects of my invention to pro.-

vide an improved arrangement of this type in which a rail is held in position by means of a clip which is adapted to yield upwardly with the rail with respect to the tie plate without loosening the connection of the tie plate with the tie;

To this end, it is one of the'objects of my invention to provide an improved clip arranged so that when the engaged portion of the rail flange is moved with respect to the tie plate so as to cause the clip to yield upwardly the major portion of any distortion of the clip takes place between the point of' engagement of the clip with the tie plate and the inner end of the clip. For insuring this result, it is one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved form oi! clip by reason of which the major portion of the distort-ion of the elip is confined to its intermediate.

portion.

It is one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved arrangement by which a. clip may be permitted to yield as required independently of any distortion of the clip itself. It'is another object of my invention to-provide a con-. struction of this kind. in whichrthe pressure of the outer end of the clip on the end of the tie 5 plate is increased rather than decreased when the inner end of the clip is swung upwardly away from the tie plate. ,For this purpose, it' is one of my objects to provide anarrangement in which the clip is formed separately from the tie plate and separately from the spring member so that r the outer end of 'the clip is adapted to assume a canted position with respect to said two parts so as to compress the spring and exert a constantly increasing lever pressure on the tie plate as the inner end of the clip swings upwardly.

It is one ot the objects. of my invention to provide an improved arrangement by which a clip of the type specified maybe held in position independently of the tie plate so that the clip may be removed from operative position without disturb- 5 ing the mounting of the tie plate on the. tie.

It is one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved arrangement of this character by which the tie plate is'mounted rigidly in position on the tie without any provision for rela- 10 tive movement between the tie and the tie plate and by which the rail is secured yielding y in position on the tie plate so as to'permit movement of the rail on the tie, plate and so as to per mit removal of the rail without releasing the plate 15 to be new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the claims. In the drawings,-

' 25 Fig. .1 is a side face view of one of the preferred I forms of my improved mechanism shown in position upon a, rail illustrated in cross section with the top portion broken away;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the parts shown in go Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to the left handportion of Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of construction; i

of Fig. 3 but showing a slightly modifled'form 0! clip. H

Fig. 5 is a. view similar 'to Fig. 1 but showing another modified form of devices;, 1

Fig. 6 is a top plan view oi the parts shown in 40 Fig. 5; L

Fig. 7 is a view similar to the right hand portion of Fig. 5 but illustrating a modified form. of construction; and

Fig; 8 is a top plan view of the clip shownin Fig. 7.

Referring now particularlyto Figs. 1 and 2, in which corresponding parts are indicated bythe same reference characters, .I ll indicates a tie having a, tie plate I I mounted thereon, with a rail l2 5o mounted on the plate between the ribs It the outer edges of the base flange oi therail. In 7, the construction shown in Fig. 1 the tie plate II is provided with a plurality vo! spike openings [4 therethrough at each 'side of the rail inspaced' Fig. 4 is a view similar to a fragmentary portion 35 of one with respect to the other.-

relation to the edge of the flange. In two of the spike openings I4, I have mounted sc'rew spikes l5 each of which is provided with an abutment means f6 fixedly mounted on the spike serving to act as a head for the rotation of the spike into engagement with the tie l 0.: In the construction illustrated bevelled washers I l are mounted on the spikes between the abutment members I6 and the, top face of the plate. The spikes l5 when turned down properly hold the tie plate I l rigidly in position upon the tie I0.

As is clearly shownin Fig. 1, each of the spikes I5 is extended upwardly beyond the abutment means l6. Upon the upper end portions of said spikes, I have mounted clips 3 of spring metal, such clips extending into position over the top faces of;the flange portions at opposite sides of the rail. Above the clips I8, I have mounted double spring washers IS in position upon the spikes, such spring washers being normally held in compressed condition by nuts 20 secured by means of screw threads on the upper end portions of the spikes. In the construction shown, the clips l8 are mounted in diagonally disposed position with respect to each other on the plate I I.

By the use of my construction, the tie plate I l is held at all times in rigid position with respect to the tie so as to prevent any wearing movement When' a wave motion is produced in the rail by the movement of a car wheel'along the rail, the spring clips l8 are adapted to yield upwardly away from the tie plate against the resiliency of the coiled spring washers l9 and against the resiliency of the clips themselves. Such yielding. movement of the ,clips serves to permit comparatively free movement of the wave along the rail without aifecting the mounting of the tie plate upon the tie. At the same time, the clips l8 hold the rail l2 strongly in position. The clips I8 are of considerably greater cross sectional size than that of the coiled spring washers, with the resultthat when the inner end portions of the clips are given a slight upward movement with the rail the major part ofthe distortion takes place in the coiled spring and only a very smallpart in the clip. By my construction, the amount of compression normally applied to the spring washers can be adjusted and controlled by an adjustment of the nuts 20 inde-' pendently of the degree of pressure applied upon the tie plate by the abutment means Hi. In view of the fact that the fixed abutments l6 serve by themselves as the complete vertical support for the outer ends of the clips l8, with the washers l9 pressing the clips [8 downwardly against their seats directly at the spikes i5 both' inwardly and outwardly thereof, the maximum necessary compression of the washers can be kept small and the likelihood of breakage of the washers is kept down correspondingly, since the washers l8 can be made very strong for resisting the comparatively small movement of the clips. As will be readily under-v stood, whenever it is desired the clips [8 can be removed without disturbing the connection of the tie plate with the tie. As will be readily appreciated, when the clips l8 are swung upwardly with respect to the spikes IS, the outer end portions of the .clips are caused to assume acanted position between the abutment means. l6 and the spring washers l9, serving thus further to compress the spring washers with the result that the downward pressure on the clipsby said washers is substantially; increased as the clip swing upwardly. In the construction shown in Fig. 3, a screw spike 2lof the ordinary well known type is em-- inner end portion of the clip conforms to the slant of the top face of the rail flange. In this construction the spring-washer I9 is interposed directly between the top face of theclip and the bottom face of the head of the spike. As will be readily understood, when the clip 22 is swung upwardly into canted position between the tie plate II and the coiled spring I9, the spring is.further compressed and the outer end of the clip applies a lever pressure downwardly upon the top face of the tie plate. That is, to say, when the clip 22 yields upwardly to permit a wave movement of the rail to pass, the tie plate is pressed even more firmly against the tie than before such upward swinging movement of the clip.

In theconstructionshown ,in Fig. 4, the arrangement is the same as that shown in Fig. 3

except that a clip 22-A is shown difiering slightly from the clip 22 in that the clip 22 A stands normally out of engagement with the rail flange in its position overlying the flange. It will be understood that this alternative form is presented for meeting the requirements of some roads that the rail fastening means shall be kept normally out of engagement with the rail.

vIn the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 and '6, clips 2} are employed formed of sheet metal provided at their outer edges with down turned flanges 24 which engage the upper face of the tie plate near its opposite ends. As'is clearly shown in Fig. 6, each of the clips 23 is of substantially the same width asv that of the tie plate .ll, being provided with two openings for the securing spikes25. Bevelled washers 26 are preferably employed on spikes between the clips 23 and the tite plate,'serving as seat mem-' bers through which the pressure from the springs I 9 is applied directly downwardly on the tie plate without necessary reliance on the flanges 24. Each of the clips comprises a comparatively rigid outer end portion 21 and a comparatively rigid inner end portion 28, such portions being joined by a neck portion 29 of comparatively much greater resiliency. As a result of this construction, when upwardpressure is applied upon the inner end portion of one of the clips 23,. the major portion-of the distortion of the clip takes place in the intermediate neck portion 29. In this construction also, the resilient strength of the clip at its neck portion 29 is very' considerably greater than that of the two spring washers !9 bearing on the clip.

In the construction 'shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the

arrangement is similar to that shown in Figs. 5

and 6, except that the entire inner end portion of the clip 30 is of reduced size as compared with the outer end portion. In the arrangement shown in Fig. .7, I have shown by dotted lines the ormal shape of the clip "30 before its application in operative position. It is clear from. this show-- ing that the clip 30 in its applied position presses downwardly with a considerable force upon the top face of the flange of the rail.

It will be appreciated that in the contraction shown in Figs. 5, 6,7 and 8, when the inner end portions of the clips in these constructionsare swung upwardly with-respect to the tielplates,

the outer end portions of the clips are caused to apply an increased downward pressure upon the tie plate, just as is above described in connection with the clip 22 of the form shown in Fig. 3. When the outer end portion of the clip is swung to a canted position with respect to the securing spike, the bearing of the clip upon the tie plate is shifted very slightly toward the spike. At the same time, the point of greatest pressure between the clip and the coil spring is shifted slightly whereby an increased leverage pressure is applied to the top face of the tie plate near the end oi! the tie plate.

By my invention I have provided a construction and arrangement of attaching means which are adapted to be used with any ordinary form of double shoulder tie plate without any change other than a change in the location of the spike openings. As a result of this, the tie plates to be used in my improved combination arrangement can be produced withoutany additional expense.

By the use of my improved construction in which. a single screw' spike at each side of the rail serves to hold the tie plate in rigid position on the tie and to hold the clip in gripping relation to the rail, I am enabled to keep the cost of material and the expense of installation to a minimum, eliminating any necessity for additional spike means at either ,side of the rail.

While I prefer to employ the form of constructionas shown in my drawings and as above described, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to such form except so far as the claims may be so limited by the prior art, it being understood that changes might well be made in the form of arrangement without de-. parting from my invention.

I claim:

1. In a rail supporting and securing means, the combination of a tie plate adapted to rest on a tie for supporting a rail thereon and having a spike opening therethrough at one side of the rail in spaced relation to the edge of the rail flange, a spike extending through said opening in the plate and into the tie, abutment means I on the upper end portion of the spike, a clip loosely mounted at its outer end portion on said spike so as to be movable readily into changed angular position vertically with respect to the tie plate and extending inwardly from the spike into position above the flange of the rail and resilient longitudinallywhereby its inner end is moved upwardly independently of the changed angular position of its outer 'end portion, and a coiled spring mounted on said spike between said abutment means and said clip serving normally by downward pressure on the clip to hold the clip in substantially horizontal position but adapted to yield for permitting the clip to swing upwardly out of normal position with respect to the spike.

2. In a rail supporting and securing means, the

combination of a tie plate adapted to rest on a tie for supporting a rail thereon and having a spike opening therethrough at one side of the rail in spaced relation to the edge of the rail, a spike extending through said opening in the plate and 3 yieldingly downwardly against said abutment means and releasable independently of said abutment means for removing the clip while the tie plate is still maintained in rigidly fixed position.

3. In a rail supporting and securing means, the combination of a tie plate adapted to rest on a tie for supporting a rail thereon and having a spike opening therethrough at one side of the rail in spaced relation to the edge of the rail, a spike extending through said opening in' the plate and into the tie, abutment means fixedly mounted on said spike adapted by engagement with the upper face of the tie plate to hold the plate rigidly in position, a clip mounted on said spike above said abutment means and supported by said abutment means and extending over the edge of the rail flange, a coiled spring mounted on said spike above said clip, and other abutment means removably mounted on the upper end portion of said spike above said coiled spring adapted to hold said coiled spring under tension for pressing the clip yieldingly against said first named rail in spaced relation to'the edge of the rail,

flange, a spike extending through said opening in the plate and into the tie, abutment means on the upper end portion of the spike, yielding means mounted on said spike below said I abutment means, and a clip mounted on said spike between said yielding means and said tie plate so as to hold said yielding means compressed and comprising a rigid portion in engagement with the tie plate connected with the portion in engagement with. the rail flange by a portion of comparatively much greater resiliency.

5. In a rail supporting and securing means, the combination of a tie plate adapted to rest on a. tie for supportinga rail thereon and having a plurality of spike openings therethrough at each side of the rail in spaced relation to thefedge of the rail flange, spikes extending. through two of said openings at one side of the rail and into the tie, abutment means on the upper end portion of each of said spikes, and a clip mounted on said spikes below said abutment means and comprising a rigid outer end portion in engagement with the tie plate near the end of the plate beyond said spikes connected with the inner end portion extending-over the rail flange by an intermediate portion of comparatively much greater resiliency.

6. In a rail supporting and securing means, the combination of a tie plate adapted to rest on a tie for supporting a rail thereon and having a plurality of spike openings therethrough at each side of the rail in spaced relation to the edge of the rail flange, spikes extending through two of said openings at one side 01' the rail and into the tie, abutment means on the upper end portion of each 01' said spikes, a clip mounted on said spikes below said abutment means and comprising a rigid outer end portion in engagement with the tie plate near the end. of the plate'beyond said spikesconnected with the inner end portion extending over the rail flange by an intermediate portion of comparatively much greater resiliency, and yielding means mounted on each of said spikes between the clip and the abutment means so as to be compressed for holding the clip yieldingly in operative position.

' LEVI B. ARMSTRONG. 

